Northwest watch. Politics.

Candidate Sees List Of `Endorsers' Shrink

March 11, 1998|By Bob Kemper, Tribune Staff Writer.

Schaumburg Township Committeeman Donald Totten, fighting to maintain a 32-year hold on his seat, was wrong last week when he claimed that he was endorsed by George Ryan, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, a Ryan aide said.

It's the second time in three weeks that Totten stumbled over the matter of endorsements.

"Don Totten has been his friend for a long time. They worked together in the past," Ryan's spokesman Dave Urbanek said last week. "But getting involved in a race at that level is not something (Ryan) is interested in."

Totten last week issued a statement claiming that Ryan, the current secretary of state, endorsed him over opponent Paul Froehlich. Totten also mentioned the endorsement in a mailer sent this weekend to township Republicans.

The endorsement would have been a slap to Froehlich, who works for Ryan. Instead, the flap proved a boon to Froehlich, a former top precinct captain for Totten who has been hammering Totten in one of the region's most hotly contested committeeman's races.

In claiming the endorsement, Totten quoted Ryan as saying, "The voters of Schaumburg Township are fortunate to be able to turn to Don Totten. He leads one of the best party organizations in the state."

Said Urbanek: "That's commending him. That's not an endorsement."

Totten said he had personally asked Ryan if he could use Ryan's name on a list of endorsements. Ryan agreed, Totten said, and sent along a $500 check.

"The endorsement was not a mistake, nor was it intended to be misleading," said Totten's campaign coordinator, Bob Lyons. "Don felt 100 percent comfortable with the fact that he had an endorsement from Ryan. Ryan sent a check."

When Urbanek denied late last week that Ryan had taken sides in the race, Totten said he questioned Ryan about it.

This is the second endorsement flap Totten has ignited over the past three weeks. He recently claimed that U.S. Rep. Phil Crane (R-Ill.) endorsed him, though Crane said he remains neutral in the race.

"The Crane endorsement was a mistake," Totten said. "This was not a mistake."

Froehlich, meanwhile, announced his own endorsements--accompanied by written statements from the endorsers. They include Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins.

Tuned in or turned off? Scores of political candidates have spent millions of dollars promoting themselves for months. Is anybody buying?

Two veteran Cook County election watchers say there are early indications of a low voter turnout for the March 17 primary election, maybe even a record-setter, despite heated races on the Democratic and Republican ballots.

Tom Leach, of the Chicago Board of Elections, said that while voter registration is up in the city, there was an ominous drop in a leading indicator of voter turnout: In-person absentee balloting.

The people who take time out of their schedule to appear in person to fill out an absentee ballot are among the most committed voters, Leach said. And their numbers dwindled by 50 percent from four years ago, he said.

Overall absentee balloting in Chicago was down by 10 percent to 15 percent.

"When you see those kinds of figures, it concerns you," Leach said in an interview on WJJG-AM's "Dateline News" show.

Typically, 40 percent or so of the city's voters turn out for a non-presidential primary. That has dipped as low as 35 percent.

Cook County Clerk David Orr said absentee balloting is slightly better in the county overall. County turnout in primaries hit a high of 40 percent in 1992 and a low of 30 percent in 1990, Orr said on the same program.

Low turnout is not uncommon in primaries. Less media attention is paid to candidates, and many voters are uncomfortable declaring party affiliation, Orr said.

But a major force suppressing turnout, Orr said, may be the candidates themselves--or, at least, the negative campaigns they run.

"Voters are turned off," Orr said. "Voters are not apathetic. They are angry and cynical."

Since campaigns typically focus on mobilizing only their own voters, Orr and Leach said their offices are looking for ways to generate broader participation.

Among the ideas being kicked around by the city and county are relaxing regulations on absentee balloting, allowing people to vote by phone or mail, moving Election Day to a weekend or just keeping the polls open longer.

Leach said the city's elections board will issue a post-election report, based on surveys of foreign consulates, on ways other countries raise voter participation. Some methods, he admits, won't catch on in Cook County, including financial penalties and prison terms for those refusing to vote.

Headliner: Not every politician is afraid to declare where he stands.

Sen. Martin Butler (R-Park Ridge), testifying before a Senate committee recently, said towns that landscaped around railroad crossings should not have to cut down the brush to improve visibility.

In the ensuing press release, Butler declared: "Butler, Local Communities Testify in Favor of Trees and Shrubs."